Tombstone
Born: 1999 – AF2 founding franchise
Folded: 2002
First Game: April 7, 2000 (L 31-27 @ Tallahassee Thunder)
Last Game: July 20, 2002 (W 46-22 vs. Greensboro Prowlers)
ArenaCup Championships: None
Arena
Roanoke Civic Center (8,373)12000 Greensboro Prowlers Media Guide
Opened: 1971
Marketing
Team Colors: Black, Electric Green, Grape, Black & White22000 Greensboro Prowlers Media Guide
Mascot: Stanley (the Dragon)
Ownership
Owners:
- 2000-20002: Dick Yancey, Richard Macher, Harold Jordan, Hugh Lantz, et al.
- 2002: Arena Football 2
Background
The Roanoke Steam were a minor league Arena Football team that competed in Arena Football 2 for three seasons in the early 2000’s. The team shared ownership and resources with the Roanoke Express hockey team of the East Coast Hockey League.
Indoor football never caught on in Roanoke. The Steam finished last in the league in attendance in 2000 (3,374 per game) and again in 2001 (2,575 avg.). Midway through the Steam’s third and final season in 2002, the ownership group declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2002. The Steam muddled through the rest of the season under league stewardship. AF2 quietly euthanized the club in July 2002.
The team was never a factor on the field either. The Steam failed to make the Arena Cup playoffs in any of its three seasons of competition.
Links
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One Response
The Arena Football League and the af2 were great indoor football leagues, I lived in Albany, New York at the time, the Fans were great and the game was outstanding. Averaging over 10,000 Fans per game, it was great fun while it lasted.I really miss it a lot, Made my day when the Albany Empire won the Arena Bowl in 2019. I watched the Firebirds, then the Conquest, and then the Empire, Two Championship Rings from Arena Bowl XIII and XXXIII, but I really miss the game and the Fans, Everyone having lots of fun and a great time doing it.I watched it grow from infancy to a really great League. Miss the Arena Football League!